The Secret of Melodia
by Alaska Krystal
Summary: The 1st of August 1998, a little girl was born on Craig Medical Care in Denver. Her name was Melodia Noel Benedict. Her mother never told anyone about the birth and the father of the child got an email 16 year later saying that he was the father of that little girl born the 1st of August 1998.
1. Chapter 1

**Mel's POV**

The Collins Children's Home

For the first six years of my life, you would find me at the children's home in Denver. Nobody wanted a child who told your biggest secrets. I was miserable, alone and scared, until the next chapter of my life came to light. A children's home in Texas had heard of the infamous six year old, who knew everything that she shouldn't. It was a home for orphan savants, and they had wanted to take me in. Suddenly everything fell into place. I wasn't alone, or scared anymore, I was surrounded by people like me. People who understood what I was going through, people with amazing abilities, because believe me when I say we had them all. People who spoke to animals, people who controlled the elements, sent pictures to the mind, controlled feelings, control the mind, even one person who could find things that were lost! It was amazing being surrounded by so many people who just got it. Who understood, that we would never be anything less than what we were. And so for the first six years of my life, you would find me at the children's home in Denver, the girl you would find thought she was a freak, she was a shadow of what she could be, but the next ten years of her life you could find her at home, embracing her life and accepting what she truly was.

I broke my line of thought and continue to fuss with my appearance in the mirror. Today was the day. I was finally sixteen. In the Collins children home they had a rule.  
>On your sixteenth birthday, they would reveal you past, and give you insight into why your parents put you into this place. The reason this rule was put in pace was due to the high amount of parents who placed their children here for their own protection, requesting the children be told where to find them when they are old enough. This was for a number of reasons only for savants.<br>Most of the time the parents didn't even have a choice in the matter. The net often made savants with a particularly high status put their children up for adoption due to fear for their information being sacrificed for the child's safety. I guess it must have happened once or twice before.  
>You didn't know what kind of child you were until your sixteenth birthday. Parents who place their children here had to write a letter explaining why the child was paced into the care home and if the child was allowed to contract them before they turned eighteen. I was found in another Children's Home, for normal human beings, so I knew I was not going to have such a letter. But maybe they had my birth parents names?<p>

The children here didn't have last names, in case they were able to find their parents through them. When we got here we had a name or we didn't and in that case they gave us one. Last year a baby from Norway came here and they called her Nori Collins.  
>Collins is the last name of the savant family taking care of us. The family is seven siblings and a grandmother. All of the siblings have their soulfinder's with them still.<p>

I looked down at myself. I was wearing black shorts and a grey tank top. I had bought these black alligator sandals about a week ago and I loved them. They had black rimes and didn't look too girlish. They were my first sandals, I usually only wore sneakers and boots. I had a million of sneakers. I didn't any high heels because I was already 6ft, I didn't need to be any taller.  
>I push my hair back, I had been experimenting a lot with it lately. It had ended up with me braiding my inner hair in tiny small braids. It looked amazing, in my opinion.<p>

The mirror across the room shoved me my reflection. I was sitting in a wooden chair, my long legs were eating the floor and my long black hair eating my shoulders, arms, ribs, the chairs armrests and most of my shorts. I should seriously cut it. The waves flew around my face in soft snake-like-curls. My braids fell straight around my arms and back. My skin was a olive brown and my eyes were big and a dark green colour. I had the weirdest dimples. I would say I had a Hispanic look.

"Mel it's your turn now." Maria, one of my mother's said. We all had seven mothers and seven fathers and one grandmother.  
>We didn't call the Collins by their names, most of us just called them Mum, Dad and Grandma. My hands were sweaty and I was shaking. This was the moment I had been waiting for the last teen years! I was so scared that this moment was going to say that I really didn't have parents, or that I had a Mum or Dad who would never like me to contract them (if that was possible) or that my parents had died before this day. Shaking of fear I opened the door into the office.<p>

I sat down in the chair. My Grandmother was the one handing out the letters to the Children. Last week Shirley got a letter saying that her parents were looking forward to meet her, and a ticket to Hawaii! She was leaving in a month. I was going to miss her a lot, she was one of my best friends.

"Hello Melodia." My Grandmother said. My Grandmother was the only one who called me Melodia. Everyone else called me Mel. I was more than happy about my nickname Mel, I didn't really like the name Melodia. I mean yeah it was okay but Mel was more me. I was just Mel.

"Hi Grandma." I said and smiled at her. She looked into my file.  
>"I think that you should read all of it yourself honey." She gave me the file and I looked at her in confused. But only a second, I couldn't keep my eyes of the file for half a second longer than that. My eyes scanned the file, there was pictures, hospital bills and the story I had been waiting all teen years to read.<p>

**M.N.B. placed in Denver's Children's Home by mother (16). Father never in the picture.**

Was that all? Nothing else? I felt disappointment roll through me.  
>Then I saw it.<p>

**Melodia Noel Benedict**

**Birth 1st of August 1998**

**Craig Medical Centre, Denver**

**Birth Mother: Lisa Noel**  
><strong>Birth Father: Trace Benedict<strong>

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><p><strong>AN: So Melodia is Trace' daughter.<br>This story is three years after Seeking Crystal**


	2. Chapter 2

**Mel's POV **

The Collins Children's Home

**M.N.B. placed in Denver's Children's Home because by mother (16). Father never in the picture.**

**Melodia Noel Benedict**

**Birth 1st of August 1998**

**Craig Medical Centre, Denver**

**Birth Mother: Lisa Noel**  
><strong>Birth Father: Trace Benedict<strong>

I just kept reading it, over and over. I felt a single tear roll down my check, but not due to disappointment. I had waited of this for so long, I couldn't believe I had finally got it. All of the days I had sent in my room wondering why I had been abandoned, all of the times I had cried for my parents, wondering if they were dead, all of the times I wondered if they ever thought about me, if they regretted their decision…. Were over. Those days were finally over! I had the key to unlocking every single question I had.  
>I knew who my parents were! Finally. I would be able to know a part of me I never knew. Maybe I had siblings? Or maybe I had lots of nephews, maybe I had uncles and aunts or maybe even cousins!<br>Maybe I could spend Christmas with them! Or a birthday? I felt a million dreams fill up my mind. I was no longer an orphan child. I looked at my Grandmother in shock. I was a freaking Benedict?!  
>That was SO cool! But could it be true? I could not be the daughter of one of the most important people in the Net? Could I?<p>

"Is this a joke? Am I really a Benedict?" My Grandmother smiled and nodded.

"Yes you are dear." Trace Benedict was really my father? Everyone had heard of Trace bBnedict and well…he was only in his early thirties. And the youngest Benedict Zed had just turned 18 or was it 19?  
>God, I could be their sister. My mother had also been 16 when she had me... Only 16 years between mother and daughter. What if she didn't want me, or my father, it said he was out of the picture?<p>

"Can I call him?" I asked. I knew I couldn't leave just now, though I really wanted to.  
>"I only have Karla and Saul Benedict's number, they are your Grandparents." She looked at me with tears in her eyes.<p>

I got up and out of my chair and hugged her. She was a lot smaller than I was, but hugging her still made me feel safe. This, right here, was my safe place.  
>"I love you so much Grandma. You and the Collins are the best things that ever happened to me." She hugged me and I heard her sob.<p>

"I love you to honey." I hugged her a little tighter. We didn't move for what felt like minutes.

"What about my mother?" I asked. My Grandmother shock her head.

"I'm so sorry Melodia. She died when you were teen. I'm so sorry honey." I nodded. I felt like crying. I hadn't even been given the chance to know her! How could that be fair? I was so angry before I realized at lot of children here never had the opportunity to meet any of their parents. I had a chance of meeting my father.  
>That didn't stop a couple of tears from falling however, I had never known my mother, yet I still felt the need to grieve. In my head I had known her, and I hoped she was everything I had imagined, I guess in a way, the only way to find out now was through my father.<p>

"Okay, I'm sorry to Grandma. However can I have the email address and the number for my father, Trace?" I asked, hiccupping as the tears slid down my cheeks – only slightly hysterical.

She looked at me with tears in her old grey eyes. She clearly felt my pain. She knew how I felt. Like the wold had turned its back to me, again. But something inside me was still happy, shining and filled with joy. I had a father, a real blood related one.

"You can always come here, we can call together if you want that? Or I can help you write the email? If you want to do it alone you can just take time of school this week okay? It's okay." I nodded. I couldn't speak for a minutes or more.  
>I knew the Collins loved me, but for some reason it didn't feel like enough. I wanted my birth family love as well.<p>

"Thank you." She gave me the number and an email address to Trace Benedict and his parents.

I looked into the file again. A picture of me as a baby. My Grandmother smiled and pulled a picture out from a drawer in her disk.

"This is the same as the photograph in the file. For you to keep or to give your father okay?" She said pressing it into my hands. I nodded silently and looked at it.

I was so little. Smiling the same weird smile with huge dimples and pretty eyes. I looked kind of cute.

"Either you call, send an email or you don't do anything. No of it is wrong as long as you are happy, alright? That is all that matters. We are your family, and you can either find your birth family and have two or just stay with us. It's all up to you. And no matter what you choose we will always be your family okay?" I nodded and left the office.

I spent a lot of time debating what I should do… I could call his parents, but what if he didn't want them to know? Or if he didn't want anything to do with me? No I was not going to call his parents. I could write him? He could read the email. He could write back he wanted to see me or that he didn't. He would have a choice. Also my voice would not let me down, if I just wrote an email. Not taking contact was not a possibility for me. I was going to write him an email.


	3. Chapter 3

**Mel's POV**

Looked at the glaring glow of my computer screen. It had never seemed so… threatening before. Well, it had never seemed threating before at all. Yet, I currently staring at it like it had just boiled kittens. The blank email page taunted me, mocking my fear, my hesitation.

**Hello Trace Benedict,**

**My name is Mel Noel Benedict…**  
><strong>And I think that you're my father. At least that's what it says on my birth certificate… which I totally have if you would like proof.<strong>  
><strong>I was born the first of August 1998. You and Lisa Noel (my mother) were sixteen and I was given up for adoption the day I was born. <strong>  
><strong>However wasn't adopted, I was in Denver's Children's home in six years. When I turned six The Collins Children's Home, in Texas found me and took me in. <strong>  
><strong>I have lived here for the past ten years. Today is my birthday and I was given my birth certificate. I hope to have some sort of contact with you, if you are willing...<strong>

**Mel xxx**

I tried again...

**Dear Trace Benedict, **

**Once upon a time, in a hospital in Denver, a little girl was born. She didn't have anything but a soft blanket, and foster care to call home. **  
><strong>There was something unique about this little girl, which made her different from the other orphans though...<strong>

**Mr Benedict, my name is Melodia Noel Benedict, I was born the 1st august 1998, in Denver hospital.**  
><strong>And your listed as my father…<strong>

I closed my eyes and pressed send, before I could change my mind. What if he didn't answer? What if he didn't want anything to do with me? I crawled into bed and fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up at eight. It was Saturday and everyone was home.  
>I looked around in my room, which I shared with Kathrine AKA Kathy. She was still sleeping, she sleeps till noon on Saturdays.<br>I smiled at her and got up. I was hungry. I left our room which was just big enough for to beds, two closets and one big desk with too chairs.  
>We had a big window above the desk and our beds on each side of it. The closets were on each side of the door and then we had our floor-to-ceiling mirrors up against the same wall as the bed.<br>On the hall we had a bathroom we shared with another room. We were four girls sharing one bathroom with two baths and two hand basins with two big mirror over. And of course a toilet. I brushed my teeth and took a shower.

In the Collins Children's Home there were a house where four of the seven mothers and fathers lived. In that house we also had the dinner/lunch/breakfast room better known as the canteen. Then we had four smaller houses. In those houses were two classrooms and the rest of the house were the home of one of the Collins siblings. Behind those houses was what we called HALL's. I lived in a HALL with teen other girls. All the children except the children of our mothers and fathers, lived like I did, in a HALL. The HALL's were long pauses with two floors. We had one HALL pr. smaller house and two HALL' at the big house. I lived in what we called Blue HALL. We had Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, Purple and Orange.

The last house was Grandmothers house. In there we also had two big rooms for fun. With play stations, Wii, X-box and football tables.

Today was the official Net-visit day. At 12 o'clock all savants in the Net could come and visit us. Like an open house event.  
>"Is that you Mel?" Jessica another girl living in my HALL yelled and entered the bathroom.<br>"No it's santa." She laughed. "I think you have to wake Kathy up. It's almost nine... "  
>"She will kill me if I try." I smiled and stepped out of the shower. Jessica was a 5ft7 tall girl with shoulder long honey hair. She smiled at me and pointed at the door.<p>

"Okay… I will wake her up. Don't forget to wear your blue shirt OK?" She nodded.  
>When we had the big visit day all of us had to wear a coloured shirt. The net was asked to wear white or black when they came here. We had to wear a shirt matching the colour of our house.<br>I walked into our room and pulled on a pair of black shorts, a pair of blue and white sneakers and my black T-shirt. On the back my name was stamped.

**Melodia**  
><strong>The Collins Children's Home<strong>

But you couldn't see that because of my hair. I put my name tag on the right side and turned to wake Sleeping Monster up.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for all of the reviews! xx<strong>

**Answers for my guest reviews;**

**Maddie13 - Yes, I will include original soulfinders like Zed & Sky**

**Guest - Yes Diamond and Crystal will be a part of this story**


	4. Chapter 4

**Mel's POV **

I'm not going to lie, Kathy did tried to kill me when I less than gracefully threw a bottle of water over her head to wake her up in the morning. She went crazy..  
>"What the hell, Mel!" she screamed, her face turning as red as a traffic light. She sent her bedside lamp flying at my head, which I successfully stopped with telekinesis and slowly placed back on her desk.<br>"It's the second of August." I said calmly, backing towards the door. "The Net are invited her today…" I gave her my best Mel-Collins smile. I knew she hated it.

"Agh! For god's sake!" Kathy screamed and I quickly flew out of the door before she managed to throw anything else at me.  
>"ITS NINE AM!" was the last thing I heard her scream before I walked down the hall, heading towards the bathroom, my clothes in hand, to get ready.<br>Once I entered the room again, praying that she was not angry she grumbled;  
>"I hate this stupid day" as she passed me.<br>I laughed, and bagn to clean our room as she left to take a shower.

I putt our school books and work in our drawers under the desk. The desk was pretty smart, it was a double desk with four drawers in each side and space enough for two chair under it. The desk was white like the rest of our furniture and cleaning it was a lot of work. I put clean beddings on our beds. Both of us had chosen the colour black. I looked at the photos we had in frames above our beds. It was black and white photos of friends and family at the care home, as well as pictures of ourselves.

Kathy stepped into the room with her wet cupcake brown hair in a towel.

"I hate this stupid day..." she repeated like a mantra and started to get dressed.  
>She put on the blue T-shirt and a white skirt. While she put make-up on I tied my hair up into a ponytail. Jessica and the other girls had started to clean the living room, kitchen and guest bathroom when we got down stairs.<br>Upstairs lived all six of us girls, in three rooms and down stairs there lived four girls in two rooms.  
>Their rooms all looked like Kathy and I's, well they had colours in their rooms, and we didn't. The living room had a little table with four chairs.<br>We never really ate here so we didn't need this table really. Then we had a kitchen for snacks, ice-cream mostly and hot drinks like Coffee or tea.  
>The living room was three couches, a flat screen and a big chair in the cornor. We all started cleaning. And with twenty hands we were quickly done. The past five days everyone had been working hard outside as well. We had been cutting the grass, cleaning the paths and putting flowers and threes into the ground.<p>

The Collins Children's Home was ready for the Net at eleven. All the Children were called into the canteen to eat brunch. We always ate when the Net arrived. We could sit were ever we wanted so the canteen was one big rainbow of different coloured T-shirts.

I sat with Kathy, Jessica and Shirley. Shirley couldn't stop talking about Hawaii, Jessica didn't talk much and Kathy couldn't stop complaining about mornings.  
>Suddenly Lorcan sat down next to me. I looked at him. God. He was so annoying. Shirley looked at me with her behave-yourself-look. But I couldn't help it! Lorcan was so… Argh I couldn't take him.<br>"Morning." he said with his stupid deep voice and Irish accent. God sake! He came here when he was three years old, shouldn't he have a southern accent like the rest of us?! The other girls started talking with him. I looked at our little six man table. The other tables weren't full either. The tables never were. Lorcan could have sat at any table, 1. There was space enough! 2. He was oh so likable… ha! My god damn a** he was.

"So what did they say yesterday?" Lorcan asked me. I looked at him.

"What?" I asked. Yesterday?

"Yeah you turned 16 yesterday." Oh yeah that's right. Lorcan had even got me a freaking gift.  
>The gift was a picture of Lorcan and I, when we were younger. About seven I think. I disliked the picture so much that I had hid it under my bed.<p>

"Well my mother died when I was teen. So that was a bust." I said. Lorcan suddenly looked very sad. He had lost his family when he was three. But it was not his job to be sad because of MY mother.

"Stop it. I don't want that pity look. From any of you guys. And we keep it between us or I will kill you." I said and started to eat again. They all stopped their pity looks and started eating again.

Lorcan ate with us without saying a thing. His friend Jace join us five minutes after me ruining the mood. He lifted it a bit, he was funny in a real Texas way. He was the son of the oldest Collins family.

"Oh and congrats with your father Mel." he said after joking about his ex-girlfriend Mary-Rose and his breakup.

"Thanks." I said and drank the rest of my juice. I got up to get some more, and left the table.

Lorcan followed me. Of course he did. Why couldn't that boy just leave me alone!

"Why didn't you say anything about your father?" he asked me. I dropped my glass. Okay I didn't really drop it, Lorcan grabbed it right before it hit the floor.

I pulled it out of his hands, careful not to touch him.

"Because he is my father, not yours. None of your business." I said with an icy voice and picked a juice.  
>"But I am your friend Mel…" he said and the tone in his voice almost made me feel bad. Almost.<p>

"And? Still isn't none of your business." I said and grabbed an apple. Lorcan nodded.

"Good, glad we sorted that.." I nodded.

"Don't do it again.. " He whispered.

"Fine. " I walked off.  
>I almost felt bad for the look on his face… almost<p>

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for the reviews on the last couple of chapters - means a lot xx<br>Have you read my story Trusting Vick yet?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Mel's POV**

I slowly started cleaning. Kathy and I had been on cleaning duty, but Loran had offered to take Kathy's place. And the Sleeping Monster had, of course, agreed.  
>That boy was a pain. I was washing and he was drying the plates. Everyone else were out doing whatever they wanted or showing people from the net around. Why couldn't he had cleaned for me?<br>Jesus that kid had problems.

"Aren't you dying to know more about your father?" Lorcan asked in that stupid tone of his. I was, I just didn't want to share that with Lorcan.  
>I mean before the net showed interest in The Collins Children's Home - and our gifts - I had no problem with him. But when they came here and they choose to pull me into their cases of crimes, murderers, other crime stuff and economy, I suddenly had.<br>I was only 8 years old and I had seen more murders than any serial killer! Any cop! Any agent! I had closed down… from one day to the other. I was not allowed to talk about the cases or what I did those days I weren't at the Collins. I don't know, maybe not talking about normal stuff was taking it to another level. A wrong level...

"Lorcan, can we please just clean. I can't talk about it OK?" Lorcan nodded. That was the one nice thing about Lorcan. He didn't keep digging if you didn't want him to. Well he usually didn't.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked me. I nodded without looking at him.

"Sure, but if you're going to sob and spit out a million feelings... I'm leaving." I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He smiled while looking at the plates.

"Okay, okay... Only if you promise not to cry first." I almost peed my pants. Me? Crying because of Lorcan. Haha. Not going to happen.

"I promise." I giggled while washing plate number 50.

"So I turned sixteen teen days ago, and Grandma gave me some letters." I stopped and looked at him.

"But that doesn't even make any sense…your parents died 13 years ago." He nodded without looking at me.

"Yes they did. But my aunt and uncle did not. They want to meet me." I started washing again. Was he leaving? Something inside me started moving. No he couldn't leave. He wouldn't.

"Are you leaving the Collins?" I asked without looking at him.

"No. Not forever. Just for two weeks. I'm leaving tomorrow." I looked at him and put the plate I had in my hand down, a little too hard. It broke into two pieces. I looked at my hand. Blood started to run down into the sink. Great I had cut myself.

"No don't cry Mel... it's not deep." Lorcan said and came closer. I was not crying because of the stupid cut. I wasn't even crying. Was I?

"No! Don't come closer. You'll get blood everywhere. Get something to fix this instead." I said. But him getting blood everywhere was not why I didn't want him close.

I washed my hand and put a patch on it. A very big patch.

"Okay sit down. I'll do the rest." Lorcan said and I sat down on the kitchen table next to him. He did the last 20 plates and put glasses and cutlery into the dishwasher.

While he did the rest, three males entered the kitchen. Lorcan fast got his hands out of the wash.

"Oh Hello I think that we might be lost?" One of the men said. He had glasses and was pretty tall and Hispanic looking. Good looking as well.

"Yup, the Calvin Klein modelling centre is the next door." I send the men a giant smile. They looked too good to be out here doing nothing. Lorcan send me the NO-look and I smiled at him. He smiled back even bigger. That kid was weird.

"Oh well thank you that was just what I was looking for!" another of the boys said. He was tall and slim with a wonderful mess of hair. I smiled at him and then again at Lorcan.  
>To say; you see? That was funny! But I didn't say anything. I just smiled at him. He started to clean the dishes again and the men started to look a little uncomfortable. They started to look at each other. Well not the one who hadn't been speaking yet? He just looked at Lorcan and me. Like he saw something the others didn't.<p>

"What are you looking for, I mean except for the agency of Calvin Klein?" The man who hadn't talked until know finally did.

"Just some adult, we are from the net." I nodded.

"Well behind you there is a door, go through that door and rang the bell on the desk. "

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." I said and turned away to turn on the radio. I gave the men a second glance. They looked like what I had always pictures superheroes to look like.

"So where does your aunt live?" I asked Lorcan. Not that it was awkward not talking. It wasn't really, I just wanted to talk about something. Apparently his aunt. He turned and looked at me. I was sitting on the other side, on another kitchen table.

"Dublin, Ireland."

"I know where Dublin is you moron." I said. "For two weeks?"

"Yes. I know I should have said it before…" Before I could say something mean in return, the men came into the kitchen again.

"Well Lorcan that is all for you. I'm leaving." Loran turned around.

"You can't seriously mean that!" he yelled after me. "It's our last day together!" I laughed.

"Lorcan... you can put that 'together' a place where the sun does not shine." I have no idea why I was so angry. I just was.

"Melodia!" he yelled after me but I was already gone…

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><p><strong>An: THANK YOU for the reviews! <strong>  
><strong>And thank you Findingsky4life<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Mel's POV**

The sweet sound of my favourite music filled the room and I let out a breath I didn't realise I had been holding.  
>Kathy and the other girls must have gone out, because they weren't here. This completely worked in my favour though, because I definitely didn't feel like being social right now.<br>I just wanted to be alone… I had so many thoughts twirling round in my mind right now- things I didn't quite understand. All of them centred on Lorcan which just annoyed me even more, why was he such a pain? Everything I ever thought about him was somehow being contradicted by the question I was asking right now though. Why did he have to go? Why hadn't he told me he was leaving? These were all things that I never thought I would acre about. However it was the last thought that really made me think though.  
>Why did I even care?<br>Last time I checked, I hated him for god's sake! He was the most annoying person on the earth! Even the way he walked annoyed me, the way he breathed!

A knock on the door broke my thoughts, a knock that sounded suspiciously like Lorcan's…  
>"GO AWAY LORCAN!" I yelled, angry at him as usual. "LEAVE ME ALONE! I don't want to talk to you…" I trailed of when the door opened, despite my protests. The guy standing in the doorway wasn't Lorcan though.<br>I recognised him as one of the guys from earlier, when me and Lorcan were washing up. He was tall, 6ft, with broad shoulders and Hispanic looks, just like the others. I would bet my life on them being brothers.  
>"Erm, it's not Lorcan" He said, shuffling awkwardly in the doorway. I nodded, standing up slowly, and walking a little closer.<br>"Oh, Hi? Are you looking for Lorcan, the tall Irish guy? He's not here" I said. The man shook his head, smiling softly at me. There was something in his eyes I couldn't quite decipher.  
>"Are you Mel?" He blurted out curiously. I froze. Lorcan had yelled Melodia..not Mel.<br>"Yes… I am." I nodded slowly, nervous. This wasn't like me at all. I was always ironic, maybe a little mean. But nervous? That was something I wasn't. Then again this man was probably from the net, another man in a suit and tie, here to make use of an orphan. No worries about the after affects it would have to their emotional state.

"The only Mel that boards at this orphanage?" He continued. I nodded, what a strange question.  
>"Well then…" He said. "I'm Trace Benedict." He paused, and my eyes grew 10 sizes it hitting home with what he said next. "I'm your father"<p>

I looked at him through new eyes, and everything made sense. The Benedict's were Hispanic and so was he, and if I really looked at him, we shared the same features, I mean we are both ridiculously tall for crying out loud! And we shared the smile..  
>"Oh." was my great reply. I shook my head - what was wrong with me! I had been waiting for this moment for years, planning what I would say, what I would do, and all I could say was oh?!<br>I started again.  
>"I'm Melodia Collins… I mean, Noel Benedict" I said, not much better than my first reply, but it seemed to please my father, what with me using his last name.<br>He held out his hand to shake, but I shook my head.  
>"Oh no I can't – not before I've told you what my gift is, it wouldn't be fair." I explained, and he nodded, looking slightly confused.<br>"Let's go downstairs, I can make you coffee?" I asked.

He nodded, and we went downstairs, he took his coffee black, like I did. I liked the idea of us acting and looking the same.  
>"So" He started, "I'm intrigued, your gift? Why can't you touch me?"<br>I smiled shyly at his question and thought here goes nothing. This was usually the part when people backed up against the wall from me.  
>"My gift is, very threatening to some people. You see, when I touch people, I can know all of that persons secrets. Something like a hand shake, wouldn't tell me all of them, but certainly you biggest."<br>My father (Which still felt completely weird calling him that) nodded.

"Its almost like my gift" He said, I got a little excited when he said that.  
>"Really! It is? I have always wondered whether my I got my gift from my mother and father or just, you know, luck"<br>He reached over and touched my hand.  
>"I'm sorry you had to wonder."<br>I smiled, nodding slowly. "That alright, I had an amazing family helping me" He returned my smile and took a sip of his coffee.  
>"So, what's your gift then?" I asked.<br>"If I touch an item I know who placed it." That was really smart if someone killed someone and left the murderer weapon or lost his or hers purse. Or if someone had misplaced your things and you wanted to know who.  
>I nodded, and smiled again, this was becoming repetitive. We sat in comftable silence for a couple of minutes, neither of us addressing the elephant in the room, my mother.<p>

"Have you also contacted Lisa, Melodia?" He asked. I looked at him. He didn't know? Oh god.

"You don't know, do you?" I asked him. He looked at me in confuse. "She is dead." I said. He didn't say anything. He looked shocked.

"I'm sorry. You really deserved to meet her. She was..."  
>"Yeah she was…" I said. He didn't have to say whatever she was. I would never know anyway.<p>

"I want to make it very clear to you that I didn't know you existed. I didn't talk to Lisa very much after…"

"Okay I don't need to hear that…" I said with a grin. He smiled relieved. "And I know you didn't. My file mentioned that. So the two men with you? Are they my uncles?" Trace nodded.

"The one with glasses is Yves and the Calvin Klein is Xav. They know about you, I hope that is okay?" I nodded slowly, taking it all in.

"Yeah that's fine. I just wanted to make sure." Trace nodded. We talked about everything, Trace was easy to talk to and I felt like I had known him for longer than 20 minutes.

"I know I just turned up… and that I've only been your father for about an hour… But what is up with you and that Lorcan boy?" I laughed. I loved Trace for already playing protective father.

"Nothing really." I said and emptied my coffee cup. Trace didn't believe that. No one seemed to believe that.

I noticed a ring on his hand.

"You're married?" I asked… or well said. He was clearly married.

"Yes, one second." he said and pulled out his phone. He found a picture. The women looked like Egyptian queen. She was beautiful!  
>He showed me another picture. She was pregnant there. Smiling at her stomach with a tall girl next to her. The tall girl was even more beautiful than my father's wife. How was that even possible?<br>He showed me another picture of his wife. She was sitting next to a Christmas tree with a puppy in her arms. A little golden retriever.

"Her name is Diamond and the dog is Monty." I smiled at my father. He looked so happy when he spoke about her. Was it possible?

"Is she...your soulfinder?" I asked. He nodded proud.

"Wow you are lucky..." I said and he laughed.  
>He showed me another picture. A baby. It was a boy laying in the arms of Trace. He had a blue jumpsuit on. He was about a year I would say.<p>

"That is your baby brother Shane. You actually look alike." I smiled at the picture. I had a father and baby brother.

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><p><strong>AN: First of all thanks for the reviews!<br>Trace' and Mel's first meeting - please review  
>btw sorry if the next chapter will take some time! I really have to get it right because it's very important for the story.. You will see<strong>

**And a BIG Thank you to the amazing Findingsky4life**


	7. Chapter 7

**Mel's POV**

Trace looked at me with a soft smile on his face.

"I'll be back tomorrow okay?" he said, pulling me into a well needed hug. His brothers got into the rented cars with soft goodbyes and animated waves- mainly on Xav's part, who I had learned was the clown of the family.

It was hard not to cry as I put my full attention into the hug, this was what I had been missing all of my life. It was like a piece of me I never knew was missing had returned, filling the whole I had searched so far to fill.  
>A tear rolled down my cheek, and Trace kissed my forehead, whispering<br>"Don't cry sweetheart".  
>As the car drove away, realization hit me. As soon as trace kissed my forehead, I knew his biggest secret. Me. I was his biggest secret.<br>Only two people knew about me – Xav and Yves. His wife, his mother, his other brothers… they knew nothing.  
>"I'll see you tomorrow..." I whispered to myself, seen as the car was long gone, off to wherever my father and uncles were staying.<br>I wrapped my arms around myself, allowing the strong winds to brush my hair in front of my face, not bothering to move it. I don't know how long I stood therefore, but I would have stood there longer, if an all too familiar voice hadn't interrupted me.

"How was it?" I turned around. Lorcan. Of course. I didn't even want to lie, I was too happy.

"It was amazing." I smiled with tears in my eyes. Lorcan nodded and handed me my jacket. I hadn't noticed the cold wind before now.

"Thank you." I said. He nodded and left me alone. He knew me, though I desperately tried not to let him. How on earth he had managed to with his life still intact, I don't know.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face. I had a father. Trace Benedict was my father.

The next morning I got up at nine. My father mad send me a message at 8 o'clock.

**Hey Mel **  
><strong>I was thinking that we could go out for dinner tonight? <strong>  
><strong>I'll pick you up at six?<strong>  
><strong>Trace xx<strong>

**Sounds great!**  
><strong>I would love that xx<strong>  
>Was my quickly powered of reply.<p>

I was literally on cloud nine. It was amazing having such a good father. I grabbed a pair of cowboy shorts and a white T-shirt and went to the canteen. There were teen others in the canteen. Jessica was sitting on her laptop at our table. I join her with a plate filled with fruit.

"Hey Beautiful " I said. She took of her glasses and smiled at me.

"Did you get to say goodbye to Lorcan?" She asked me and grabbed some of my fruit.

"He already left?" I asked and suddenly I wasn't flying on a cloud in the sky anymore. Why hadn't he woke me up?

"About two hours ago.. " she said, trailing off as if it was obvious.

"I didn't get to say goodbye."

"Well that explain his glum face then." She said and started writing something on her laptop.  
>We ate the rest of the fruit without talking and I suddenly missed Lorcan's deep voice, interrupting my train of thought, breaking the comftable silence. Wait… What?! No...<p>

The rest of the day I studied and made my paper for tomorrow. I tried not to think about Lorcan or Trace, but it was pretty hard.

At six I walked out to the parking lot. One of my mothers, Maria, was talking with Trace.  
>"Hey Mel, are you ready?" Trace asked. I nodded. Maria gave me a kiss on the head and Trace and I drove into the town.<p>

"Maria said that Lorcan left today." Trace said. Something inside me hurt, not hurt like when you fall of a bike, more like when someone twist your arm.

"Yeah he left.." I said and started to play with the zipper in my leather jacket.

"Are you OK with that?" Trace asked me. He had already gone father-crazy. Just after knowing me one day, and I loved it. I loved that he cared so much already. No one else other than stupid Lorcan had ever done that. I missed him... I really did, didn't I?

"It's weird. But he didn't leave-leave... he just left for two weeks. He will be back. " I said and looked out the window. I didn't trust myself, I didn't trust my face not to tell that it was more than weird. It was... I didn't have a word for what it was. But I didn't like it.

"When are you leaving Texas then?" I asked him while he parked the car outside a restaurant.  
>One of my favourite restaurants in this part of Texas .He looked at me for a minute or two. His big brown eyes looked right into mine green-brown-ish eyes.<p>

"In a week." he said. I was a little shocked. That was earlier than I thought he would leave.  
>OK him leaving, I hadn't really thought about that. I totally should had. I mean he had family! A wife! A son! And a dog... They all, mostly his son maybe, needed him.<p>

"What, so fast?" I asked him. Why did he have to leave so fast? I had just found him.

"Diamond and Shane needs me." He said. I needed him too. I nodded.

"Are you coming back? Because if you aren't you can just drive me home…" And I meant it. I was a little angry with him, why hadn't he told me?! He looked shocked.

"Of course I'm coming back. I wouldn't leave you here. I just need to tell Diamond about you before bringing you home with us." Home? He meant Denver? His home? At his place? Was I going to live with him?

"In Denver?"

"Yes with Diamond, Shane, Monty and I." I nodded. I liked that.

"If you want too. If you don't want that I'll figure something out. "

"No no... I would love that." I said and I meant it with all of my heart.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for all the reviews! <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Mel's POV**

The sun was still shinning though it was late.  
>I was standing at the gate with the three Benedict brothers. They all smiled at me. It was weird having so much family from one day to the other. But it was also kind of amazing.<br>I suddenly understood why Lorcan had to visit his aunt and uncle. I mean, he had lost his parents, he knew that, but family was family. He had us, but I knew that, I wasn't always enough. I mean, I knew! I had been starving to know anything about my family! I had been dying to get to meet them.  
>I wanted the love of my family SO bad. I would do anything for the love of my family. Thank god they weren't bad news.<p>

I knew what it meant to have someone…and then lose them. I had my mother for like five minutes for god sake! Which was so unfair. I would like to have met her... Just once. Known her… Just a little. I mean her favourite colour? Her favourite animal? What she liked to do? Did she like to paint? To play guitar? Maybe piano? Or maybe she just liked to read?  
>I don't know and I might never know.. But it's alright because I have my father. An amazing father and six uncles.<p>

Trace had been picking me up from the Collins all week and we had gone every single place nearby worth visiting.  
>We had been to the movie theatre, seen a rodeo, ridden horses through a water park, and visited a theme park! The list continues with swimming in the river, visiting restaurants and every single coffee shop we saw. I defiantly had my love for Coffee from Trace.<br>It had been the most wonderful week of my life.

Saturday Xav and Yves had watch a movie with us at their place and getting to know my uncles had been amazing. I knew they already liked me, and I was surprised that they did. But also that I was so much like my father.  
>I mean I had things from my mother, like my eyes... But I was also a lot like Trace. I even scratch my hair like he did! Xav said it was weird watching.<p>

We had been eating popcorn, testing who was best at telekinesis and I was obviously winning. The night had been amazing.  
>I had learned so much about being a part of a real family. I had learned a lot about their soulfinder's.<br>Crystal loved fashion... she was a soul seeker and she could help me find my soulfinder when time was right.  
>Phee was a little fighter who didn't like Yves was so far away from her. She had a rough past, so did Sky, the youngest of my uncles' soulfinder. But they were all fine now...It was weird, my uncles were only a few years older than I was. They could have been MY brothers.<br>It made me happy to know such things. My uncle Vick should have been here but he found his soulfinder a couple of months ago, and is still working on their relationship... She is hard to handle. Uriel, number two, is in South Africa looking for his soulfinder. I wish him th best of luck, even though I haven't met him.

The day of his leaving had come. It was weird hugging my uncles goodbye wishing them a good flight. They were going home. Home, to a place I might soon be able to call home soon as well. Trace hugged me tight.

"I'll talk to Diamond as soon as I get home. " I nodded. What if she said no? What would happen then?

"I'll see you soon." He said and kissed my forehead. They drove of and I waved until you couldn't see the car anymore.

It was weird being alone. Well without my stalker Lorcan and my father Trace everything was weird. It was like something was missing. That was Trace. I missed Trace, not Lorcan. Stupid Irish kid could do whatever he wanted to do in Ireland. I didn't care.. Did I?

I sat down on my bed. I did miss Lorcan didn't I?  
>I pulled out the photo he had given me about a week ago. It was Lorcan and I standing in his bedroom. He had his arm around me and I smiled at him. He smiled proud into the camera.<br>I smiled at the memory. We had been playing all day and in the evening we had built a pillow ford. We had been playing bears I think.  
>We were two baby bears in the woods outside the Collin's Children's Home. I remember I told him he was the sweetest friend I had ever had. He had said that I was his best friend. Truth to be told, he had been mine too.<br>But I hadn't told him. Grandma had taken this picture. He had hid it... I turned it around. Lorcan had written something on it. His handwriting was so boyish, it looked like a 10 years olds hand writing. But it was his and it was kind of nice…

**5th September 2005 - The best day with Mel**

I smiled.  
>It's wasn't one of those long messages you often get from friends. This was short. Short but nice.<br>He knew me too well. I had tried to keep him out for so long, and he had been fighting for me to let him in. I probably should give him a chance... WAIT?! Should I?

He knew I only liked black and white photos, that's why he had made this black and white.  
>I pulled out a frame and put the picture into it. I hung it on my wall and couldn't help but smile. We were pretty cute on the picture...mostly Lorcan. I looked like an elf. A very tall elf with crazy hair.<p>

It knocked on the door and I looked up. Carter, the only tall Asian guy I had ever met, had his head into my room.  
>"Hello Mel, I hear the Benedict's left?" I nodded and forgot about Lorcan and my crazy hair.<p>

"I feel like pizza? Do you?" I said with a smile, I could do with some company right now.

"Always Mel, but you're going to have to pay." He said teasingly, poking his tongue out at me.

"Such a gentle man Carter." I said sarcastically.

"Anything for the love of my life." He said and I got up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm SO sorry! I'm a terrible writer for being this late...<br>**


	9. Chapter 9

**Mel's POV**

Jake spent a lot of time trying to cheer me up, but it wasn't really working out. Most of my time with Jake, was spent thinking about how much he reminded me of Lorcan – and that definitely wasn't good. Oh god help me..

That's why I began distancing myself from him, slowly joining Carter more instead. He was everything Lorcan wasn't really, and to be honest, that was exactly what I needed right now. Plus we had always gotten along really well, and I need a carefree friendship in my lie right now.  
>Carter and I were currently stretched out on our tummies on my bed, music blasting through my bedrooms speakers. That was until Carter decided to start a conversation.<br>"Soo the love of my life, how is life without the poppy?" He asks me.  
>I turn to look at him and raised an eyebrow. "Lorcan?" I said, a hint of confusion and amusement laced into my voice.<p>

"Yep" He said, popping the 'P' at the end casually, as if they were talking about what type of bread they liked.

I sat up. "What a strange question" I said, feeling my cheeks flush, "I don't know what to say."

"You love him?" he asked, however it sounded less like a question and more like a statement.

"No!" I exclaimed but the second the word left my lips, It felt like a lie. Carter didn't pick that up.  
>Carter has never been my best friend, but since we started working for the BI together, he had certainly became a friend. We had a lot of banter and jokes with each other, what with him consistently calling me the love of his life.<p>

That wasn't what rooted our friendship though, no what rooted it was the hidden feeling behind the banter and jokes. The complete and utter relation and understanding that we would never in fact fin the love of our lives.  
>That simple revelation in itself, created an understanding which blossomed into friendship, and I knew, I could rely on him completely. Because we were the same people really, we could hate the FBI and the net together.<p>

I mean, don't misunderstand my words for something they are not – we don't hate the concept 'Net' because they are the good guys. We simply hate the Net for what they have done to us personally.  
>No matter how much they sugar coated it and wrapped it in a pretty little agent with a toothy smile – we knew. The used us purely because we were orphans. We were disposable, and a key asset, because no one spoke up for us, because we had no one who really cared.<p>

So yes, not wanting to help was selfish, and it may not save as many lives. But I had a life to, no matter how pathetic it seemed to the net. Sometimes you need to be a little selfish to safe yourself.

On Monday, I bit my tongue and went fishing with Jake. After all – he had been MY friend before he became Lorcan's.

"So have you heard from Lorcan?" I asked and tried to sound normal. Like I really didn't care. Didn't work.

"Yeah lill' nah much." He said and closed his eyes. He wasn't even fishing, he was just sleeping in a boat. With me. Ouch.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing much, I think he missed you."

"Oh shut up." I said and looked down into the muddy water. Here were no fish. The idiot knew nothing about fishing. Lorcan knew how to fish.. and I missed the fishing-irish-poppy. Sad isn't it?

The days without Lorcan following me around, had been SO long. Today was the day he came back. Julia, my mother, and I was picking him up in the airport. The airport was filled with people picking other people up. I saw a guy with a dozen of roses and four red balloons. That was so cheesy… but cute.  
>I also saw an elder man waiting with a happy expression on his face. Maybe he was waiting for his wife? Or grandchildren?<p>

Julia and I sat down in two chairs waiting for Lorcan. His flight was late. I started thing about the conversation with Jessica last night;

"So when are you going to admit it?" Jessica asked and looked up from her magazine. I looked at her in confuse. We were sitting on my bed reading Vogue.

"Don't lie to me Mel. It's crystal clear for anyone with or without eyes, that you and Lorcan -" No! She was not going to say what I thought she was going to say! No way in hell! But she was...

"No." I said simply but effectively shutting her up.

"I was going to say, that you and Lorcan clearly have some none spoken magic going on!" She dropped her magazine on the floor and turned her body to me.

"I've never even talked telepathic with him…"

"Not that kind of magic... Haven't you noticed? Every conversation you have is filled with none spoken words!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I give up, I really do – you so oblivious!" Jessica said and left my room.

The past week had gone so slow. I had gone to classes, done my homework, done nothing and well done more nothing.  
>Of course I had been talking to Trace but not much. He had police work. He send me a text every night though.<br>He knew I worried if he wanted me to come to Denver, but he had made it pretty clear that he did. Those text messages meant a lot for me and I think that they also meant a lot to Trace.

Lorcan came walking around the corner with his suitcase. I got up.

"LORCAN!" I yelled. He turned his head and looked surprised. I smiled and ran as fast as I could. I jumped into his arms. He hugged me tight.  
>Lorcan was taller than I was, and taller than my father. Lorcan was 6ft3 or maybe more. I pulled away and hit him over the arm.<p>

"Ouch! Why did you do that?" He asked.

"You didn't say goodbye you a**." I said. Lorcan shook his head.

"Yeah I'm sorry…"

"You better be. It's going to be hard to make up for that."

"Are you going to let me try" He asked and grinned.

"Not really."

"Well then yes, it's going to be hard." I smiled up at him, I never really smiled UP at someone so this was nice, and hugged him again. 

I helped him unpack his suitcase… Well I laid on his bed while he did it. I was helping... Kind of.

"How was it?" I asked. He stopped packing for a second and then continued without looking at me.

"Ireland or my aunt and uncle?"

"Both." I said and sat up. I pulled his pillow into my arms and places my head in my hands. Lorcan sat down on the bed with my.

"It was weird, you know?" I nodded. "I wanted it to work… and it did OK. I was fine. I just... I don't know. "

"It was not what you were hoping for?" I asked him. He laid down in the bed and closed his eyes.

"Is it bad?" he asked, I tug my shoulders.

"It might, it might not. It's whatever you want it to be." I said and calmly tangled my hair around my fingers. Lorcan looked at me with his big brown eyes.

"When did you become so wise?!" I smiled and hit him with the pillow.

"I always have been, you moron"

"So what are you going to do?" I asked him after a couple of minutes of hitting each other with pillows.

"I have literally no idea. They want me to come live with them…"

"Are you? I mean are you going to live with them?" I asked with a shaky voice. I didn't want him to leave me. Bloody hell.. I didn't even know myself anymore.

"I don't know? Are you going to live with Trace?" I sighed.

"I don't even know if his wife want me to..." I said without lying. I didn't even want to lie.  
>There was no point in lying to Lorcan. He was going to ask another question another time and me lying, like I had the last eight years was not going to help me. So I didn't and it felt right.<p>

Lorcan smiled at me.

"We could also just travel to west India and live there…" I laughed.

"When did you think of that?"

"Just now. I like the idea." I smiled and said;

"Me too."

We didn't say a thing for maybe half an hour. Lorcan closet his eyes but suddenly opened them again.

"Do you want to live in Denver?" he asked me. I looked at him. His big brown eyes stared right into mine. I took all of him in.  
>His golden mess of hair, his brown eyes, his long and tall body… You could easily see his mussels though his white shirt... When had the boy grown such a body?<p>

"What?" I asked. He grinned and mess his hair a little more up by scratching his head. "I asked, weather you wanted to move to Denver or not?"

"I think so. I mean I just found my father. I want to spend time with him. "

"I get that."

"You don't want to live in Ireland?" I asked him. He looked at me very intense.

"I like it here." I nodded and looked away. "But…" he said.

"But what?" I asked.

"But they really want me there." I turned to look at him. I wanted to ask him what was holding him back, but I was afraid to know the answer.

"I should go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." I said and left his room.


End file.
